Carleigh's New Bedroom

Carleigh will be getting her first ever bedroom set with a twin bed, nightstand, dresser, and desk. It is cherry oak and she will absolutely LOVE it! I am now deciding on a pink which goes really well with cherry. So I have to get the front playroom cleaned out and it will become her room.

I am also thinking of painting every room in the house, so if you feel the need to paint, come on over! I am tired of boring white walls and I am ready for splashes of color.

For Carleigh's room, I am thinking pink and white. I am thinking of blue and brown for the Codeman's room. Green or light tan would be perfect in the family room. My bedroom will be black and white but there is no way I would paint the walls black! It's exciting to think about changing the color inside. It just makes it into a new house (a girl can dream can't see?)

Then after her room is together, we will then start planning on making a decision regarding Cody's new bedroom furniture. I am thinking of something natural and possibly oak. It will be his bedroom furniture up to hopefully the teen years, so we want something durable and nice.

We are soooo needing a change in the house and in our lives!

Halloween Costumes

We had other ideas for Carleigh, but since it is very hard to find something that "fits" Cody, I was debating on a few themes. I like dressing them in pairs so this year, they are going as Dorothy and Scarecrow. I think the scarecrow costume is A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E! I will not have to buy any accessories for Cody, but I will be searching for red shoes to finish off our little Dorothy's ensemble.

If the weather cooperates, we are going to the pumpkin farm on Saturday to get our pumpkins plus hit the corn maze there and see the animals. Later that evening, we will be going to a HUGE maze with our friends. I LOVE FALL! I love everything about Fall....cooler temperatures, leaves falling, pumpkins, costumes, candy, pumpkin pie, hayrides, corn mazes and pumpkin patches.

I cannot believe that October will be here in a couple of days!

The Media and Our Ordeal

Let's preface to say that I wasn't going to post about what we experienced in KY two weeks ago, but now since it is on every newspaper stand, online news websites, and local/national news, I will go and tell you all what happened.

As most of you know (if you follow my blog) you know that we were in Kentucky on a family reunion, well, since my whole immediate family (parents, sister & her family, my family) were there, my mom wanted to go and visit her parents and grandparents' graves.

We left the reunion at 6pm and had about an hour or so of daylight left. The cementery is located in southern Clay County, not too far from where our reunion was. It is in a highly wooded area and very sparsely populated. You have to drive into the Daniel Boone National Forest to get there. Well, there is a gate there and we all parked there minus my dad and all piled into the back of his truck to drive a short distance on a gravel path to the cementary. Without going into full graphic, detail, we found a man hanging from a tree. Needless to say, it horrified us and we quickly turned around and left!

We called the police and then my brother in law and dad took the police back to where we found him. It was just awful and I have been having a hard time getting the image of that poor man out of my mind. I do not like being by myself at night or ever. The first couple of nights, I just didn't sleep. I was slowly getting it out of my mind until it hit national news mid-week. Then, I heard it was mentioned on the "Today" show and "The Morning Show." And I was like, wow!

Then, someone found my brother-in-law's name and he was from the Associated Press and interviewed him. Within an hour, it was on every news website in the country. Our local news station broadcasted my brother in law's name and where he lives. While they were out last night, a reporter from CBS left a message on their door. They have been bombarded by the media last night and today.

It all feels so surreal. I kept asking the Lord why did WE have to come upon that horrific scene, but I guess He wanted us to find him so that the investigators could start working on the case. If we didn't go over there, who knows when they would've found him?

Please pray for that poor man's son, mother, and family. I just cannot imagine what they are going through. My thoughts and prayers have been with them since the night we found him. (By the way, if you google US Census Worker, you'll find the story. It is everywhere!)

I couldn't choose a title for this post and felt "ramblings" have been mentioned far too much lately! Cody has been having great days this week at school and most of last week. The week before that was just AWFUL and I was wondering if we were going to make it through Kindergarten. I love reading a paragraph about Cody every day in his behavior chart. Today, he was pulled out for speech and the ST commented that Cody was repeating sentences well (of course the sentences mention SpongeBob his second favorite character to Mickey Mouse) and knows all his shapes. This comes as no surprise to me because Cody knew his shapes at 3 years of age.

I have no idea how Carleigh is doing with Ms. Ellie, so I assume no news is good news. I may just send an email and see how she is doing. Bragging on Carleigh, her speech has progressed in amazing levels! Each day I hear her say a new sentence that I haven't heard before. Her sentence structure is starting to become complex. Carleigh's challenge lately is her behavior. Can we say stubborn, defiant, angry and strong-willed? I have to pray for patience hourly. I have tried about everything imaginable with her and am still looking for the right approach. *sigh*

Miss Carleigh thinks she runs the house and can do whatever she wants. A few days ago, I was in the front of the house working on laundry and assumed Matt was in the family room with the kiddos. I walk back to the family room and notice Cody watching tv with Carleigh nowhere in sight. I look for her in Cody's room and no Carleigh. Sometimes she likes to hide from me (ugh!) so I looked all over the place. Then the lightbulb went off and yes, she decided to put her shoes on and go outside to play (and unlock the door as well). After having a panic attack, I find her hiding behind the van. I think my hair will turn white before I hit 40!

Did I mention that Matt AND I were summoned for jury duty? Matt got summoned for grand jury duty for three weeks and all were in separate months. I was summoned for the last two weeks of October (during the week of Cody's VERY important developmental pediatrician appt at Childrens...one that we have been waiting for for 7 months) and the last two weeks that I will have my student teacher. Needless to say, I am praying I get out of it. My principal wrote a letter to the judge and we are hoping that I get excused. Why can't they summon me in the SUMMER?!! HELLO! I am off all summer and it would be so much easier! Stay tuned...I will let you know if I get excused.

Getting excited for Fall and other ramblings

Yesterday, I felt the first nip in the air (of course it had been raining as well) and it made me realize that Fall is coming soon. Actually, Fall begins the first full day TODAY. This past weekend, I went on a shopping spree to get Carleigh outfitted for the winter. We hit a few yard sales and then hit the stores. She now has at least 2 weeks worth of clothes, plus a few dresses for church. I also love how leggings are back and Carleigh can wear her skirts and dresses with modesty!

Cody scored in the clothing department as well, but not as much as Carleigh. Cody is so skinny that his clothes from last year (other than the 4T) will still fit him AND he had some 5T pants that were too big last year and he can officially wear them now.

Now clothes do not get me in the Fall mood. What I love MOST about the Fall is corn mazes, pumpkin farms, carving pumpkins, searching for the best costumes for trick or treating, the leaves falling and hence a jump into a big pile, wearing sweatshirts and jeans (w/o jackets), and pumpkin pie.

We are planning our annual trip to a farm for a corn maze and pumpkin picking as well as going to another corn maze with friends. This year, we are going to be brave and take Cody & Carleigh to Tom's Maze in Germantown IN THE DARK. Of course my greatest fear is losing them in the maze, so I might keep a death grip on them the entire time. LOL! Everyone HAS to love Fall!

Happy 40th Birthday Sis!

My niece Brittany had planned Connie's surprise birthday MONTHS in advance. She had other plans at first, but once they were finalized things fell into place. In order for it to work, the location was the family owned warehouse. Everyone parked inside so that when they brought her there, she would not notice.

Boy was surprised! She didn't figure it out! My mom and I were with her most of the day on a shopping adventure and I thought for sure someone would sleep (my mom). I wanted to get a shot of her once she saw everyone, but wouldn't you know it my camera's battery died?

All in all, everyone had a great time. She had a lot of people turn out for the event. My kids had a blast running around an empty warehouse (wish we had THAT much space!).

Happy 40th Birthday Connie! Love ya!

Update to homework

Last night we finished Cody's homework for the week. Matt got involved also and it was fun watching Cody identify ALL the lower case letters. There were 4 that he had to "think" about or said wrong initially because he wasn't focusing. However, the second time around, he knew h, g, q, and y. He knows almost or all of his sounds so I am going to buy sight words flashcards and blends so that we can get Cody reading.

I was talking to one of the K teachers at my school and she has started a new handwriting program. She said it is great program to prevent reversals, so I am going to "research" it and possibly use it for my kids at home. An OT (occupational therapist) created this program and the OT at our school uses it as well.

Here's a funny, one of Cody's worksheets had him circling the first sound in the word. Well, the picture was a cow. So I was asking Cody, "What is the first sound you hear in cow?" He replied, "Mooooooooo!"

Kindergarten Homework

Cody has weekly homework that comes home in a separate folder. Ok, the child now has 3 different folders and two of those being yellow! He has a take home folder (red) that has his daily behavior chart and papers he completed that day, a yellow Speech folder, and now a yellow homework folder.

Last night, we chugged away and completed about half of his weekly homework. One of the items of homework was for Cody to recited the "Alphabet Chant" to which he did perfectly! It was cute hearing Cody say all the letters of the alphabet with a word that starts with that letter. Who knew the kid knew words like undershirt and x-ray?

Tonight, we will be working on lower-case letter flashcards. His teacher and intervention specialist was VERY surprised and pleased that Cody could identify all upper case letters and at least half of his lower case letters (some students without disabilities in his class could not do this!). He is one smart cookie. Cody has excellent memorizing skills and is such a visual learner. I must admit that doing the homework is fun because I can spend time with him one-on-one. (And a jealous Carleigh watches us from the family room gate.) But, boy when his attention is gone, it is REALLY gone!

Another year older

You guessed it! Today is my birthday, and alas, I am another year older. Age doesn't bother me, I guess until I hit the big 4-0! It is also my mom's birthday. I was such a lovely birthday present for her on birthday #27!!

I have had quite a great day with presents from students and a co-worker. And wouldn't you know it that my class was (for the most part) well-behaved?

Tonight, we are going out to dinner and it's so nice NOT to cook on your birthday! Yay me! Of course this birthday is 10 times better than last year. Last year, I didn't have to work on my birthday due to the Windstorm power outages, HOWEVER, the only restaurant without a LONG wait was Burger King. Can you imagine eating your birthday dinner at BK? It was definitely not a restaurant of my choice!! LOL! And can you imagine spending your entire birthday without electricity and dealing with toddlers who could not go to school or watch tv? Craziness!

Our Weekend

We had a wonderful time at the reunion. It was nice to see cousins I haven't seen in years. Specifically, I haven't seen my cousin who has been out of the country serving in the military for over 5 or so years. She is now stationed in New Mexico and am so glad that to hear that she is on US soil. Her brother just enlisted and I will be praying for his safety as well. We had a cornhole tournament and drew numbers to see who was their partners. My poor partner really got the short end of the stick when he got me as a partner! I am not that good! Of course, he was good and that was the reason why we advanced. It was so fun to see all of us playing and having fun with aunts, uncles, and cousins.

On to a more serious note, I am not going into detail here, but please pray for my family and I. Everyone is ok, but something happened down there that was very unpleasant (to say the least) and we just need prayer to get it out of our heads.

Family Reunion

We are leaving tomorrow around 6pm for London, Kentucky. The annual Hibbard Family Reunion will be held most of the day on Saturday in Manchester. The majority of my family live in Clay or Laurel counties in Kentucky (Southeastern region). My dad is one (second oldest) of 13 children and since my grandparents have passed away about 15 years or so ago, the children continue to get together. Other than my dad and my Aunt Della (who lives in TN), the rest of the children all live in Kentucky. There are over 50 grandchildren and to be honest with you, I could not name all of my cousins, then there are great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Facebook has helped me get connected with some of my cousins, but I still will have to ask them who they are at the reunion. They are having it at an elementary school (one that Hannah Montana visited and gave them a computer lab due to American Idol Gives Back). It is really a small, poor country school. A part of me would LOVE to teach there. It is mostly poor Appalachian children, but sometimes I get the urging that I need to teach children who really NEED me. Just something that has been on my heart for over a year. Not sure if I will take the call, maybe down the road.

After the reunion, we plan on visiting my mom's parents' graves in Red Bird. I haven't been there since Cody was a baby. My sister and her family, my parents, and I are all staying at the same hotel and spending the weekend together. It will be nice to spend some time with all my family. Carleigh's highlight of the trip will be swimming Saturday evening in the indoor pool where we are staying.

Hopefully, there will not be a de-ja-vu of last year coming back. Last year, the Windstorm of '08 hit when we got back from KY and our power went out not an hour after we got back. And our power did not come back on until Wed. afternoon.

Way to go Cody!

I am so proud of my boy! Today I checked his daily behavior chart and he got a GLOWING report! He sat well during circle time, he played a game with his intervention specialist and got 8 out of 8 correct. Yay!

The morning didn't start well for him as he was crying in the middle of the night. Matt held him and he finally went back to sleep in Matt's arms. The poor thing had a bad stomachache...we think! Due to Cody's crying, Carleigh felt the need to get up and play a matching game to which I directed her back to bed. Needless to say, the morning didn't start out well and then it went downhill from there.

I forgot to bring the dinner I prepared for a teacher who has had some heart procedures. So my mom came down and dropped it off after getting the kids on the bus. When she tries to leave, she discovers her battery had died. So my dad had to come down to my school to get the truck started. On top of that, she got bit or stung by some insect yesterday and her eye is swollen. I was having difficulty with a student and oh my what a day! It slowly got better and therapy went very smoothly this afternoon. Whew! Here's hoping that we ALL get a good night's sleep tonight!

Outdoor Fun With Friends

Our friends Shannon and Niki came over for pizza and games. They brought ladder ball and we had bocce ball. It was fun playing both games, although I think I am much better on bocce ball. We had never played ladder ball before. Cody went with my mom and dad to the farm for a bit, so he was missing in action for the first half of the games. Carleigh was easier to manage with Cody gone. once he arrived back, the hyper and silliness began in full mode! Carleigh had to much fun that once she sat down, she CRASHED! Everyone had a great time and we had perfect weather once the sun became hidden by the clouds.

The Super Slide

Yesterday, we decided to go to Liberty, IN where we visited Wally World. Wally World is a small family entertainment place that has go karts, bumper boats, bouncey house, miniature golf, basketball, arcade, and the home to the Super Slide. How many of you remember the days of old where you get a burlap sack, climb steps and go sailing down lightning fast?!! Yes, this is the one!

The kids had a BLAST going down the slide. We quickly learned that the middle lanes were the fastest. Carleigh was able to go down all on her own. What a big girl! Matt would take one down and I would take the other. Then, some of their cousins would take them down. Cody even charmed a complete stranger (boy) who offered to take him down. He loved it! Now he is a fan of slides!

Let me tell you that my feet were sore and a little bruised from going up the stairs a gazillion times. And might I add what a nice workout on the legs!! Afterwards, we headed to a park. Boy was I one tired (but happy) momma last night!

And then on to a park

After 3 hours at Wally World, we decided to head to a park. My nephews REALLY wanted to go to Ft. Liberty Playland so we went there. The kids got really dirty, but had a blast. Yes, I was getting sand out of Carleigh's hair. Boy did they sleep well last night!!

Back into the swing of things....

We are back into the "normal" routine now. All of us are back to school and things are starting into a smooth rhythm. One thing I have to add to my nightly schedule is packing Cody a snack. I know it sounds minor, but it's just "one more thing" I have to do. Next year, I'll be packing a lunch box (eeeeek!!!) and possibly two of them! I am soooooooo not ready for that! At least I have another year to prepare myself!

Other than the lack of sleep I get, I am having a good school year. I always have "one of THOSE" in my classroom, but nothing too bad this year. They are hard workers and getting everything done. Yay! My student teacher is finding her groove and she is such a Godsend! Today, she organized two incredibly stuffed cabinets and books shelves. She will have my classroom totally organized by the time she leaves. I told her that I think she missed her true "calling" because that girl can ORGANIZE!

September is birthday month in my family so we are getting ready to celebrate lots of birthdays: my niece (her birthday is tomorrow), my mom, ME, and my sister's birthdays. That's a lot in a small familia! And don't forget a family reunion sandwiched in there and boy this month will be a busy one!!